Romo, Cowboys take down Browns

Football Betting Lines

09/07/2008 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Romo threw for 320 yards with a touchdown and an interception on 24-of-32 passing to lead the Dallas Cowboys to a 28-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the season-opener for both teams.

Romo connected with Terrell Owens on a 35-yard touchdown, one of Owens' five receptions for 87 yards while Jason Witten hauled in six catches for a game- high 96 yards receiving for the Cowboys (1-0), who are coming off a 13-3 season, their best since the Super Bowl champion squad of 1992. Marion Barber III scored a pair of one-yard touchdowns on 80 yards rushing but left in the fourth quarter with an injury to his ribs.

Derek Anderson struggled to mount an offensive attack under center for Cleveland (0-1), going 11-for-24 for 114 yards and the Browns' lone touchdown to Kellen Winslow, who made five grabs for 47 yards. Jamal Lewis gained 62 yards on the ground on 13 carries in a disappointing loss for the Browns, who posted a surprise 10-6 record last season.

After Cleveland's opening drive resulted in an Anderson fumble on 3rd-and-1 at the Dallas 46, the Cowboys cashed in on the ensuing possession. Romo found Witten three times for 49 yards and a healthy dose of Barber set up a one-yard plunge by the back to cap a 10-play, 80-yard drive.

The Browns went back to work on the next possession with 6:40 to play in the first quarter, embarking on an epic 16-play, 78-yard march that ran nearly nine minutes from the clock and stretched 2 1/2 minutes into the second stanza. Anderson hooked up with Winslow three times for 32 yards including a two-yard touchdown strike. A pair of Dallas penalties on third down incompletions by Anderson helped sustain the drive.

The game looked to be turning into a shootout as Romo came back to march the 'Boys 69 yards on just four plays, ultimately leading Owens down the left sideline for a 35-yard touchdown with just under ten minutes remaining in the half.

A pair of stalled Cleveland drives gave the Cowboys the ball with 6:05 left to play in the half and Dallas proceeded to move 68 yards before Barber once again found the end zone, this time off left tackle for a one-yard score on the 10th play of the drive. The drive left 26 seconds on the clock and Dallas hit the locker room with a 21-7 lead.

The Browns failed to produce a first down for the fourth consecutive possession to open the second half and Dallas started to pull away with another scoring drive. Romo continued to carve up the Browns secondary, connecting with Witten for 19 yards and then Patrick Crayton for 25. Rookie Felix Jones then capped the 80-yard drive by busting up the middle -- dragging two defenders -- before bowling over another for an 11-yard score to make it a 28-7 game.

The Browns offense continued to sputter with a three-and-out and the Cowboys maintained a blistering pace on their side of the ball, driving 76 yards to the Cleveland four, where Romo made his first mistake. He tried to force a ball to Owens in the back of the end zone and Eric Wright intercepted the pass and ran it out to the Cleveland 13.

The Browns defense may have sparked a last charge by the offense as Lewis started the drive with an inspired 24-yard romp up the middle for the final play of the third quarter. Anderson completed three straight passes for 39 yards to snap a streak of nine incomplete passes going back to the Browns second quarter score. However, the drive stalled on the Dallas 21-yard line after Braylon Edwards was called for a false start and DaMarcus Ware sacked Anderson and jarred the ball loose. Cleveland recovered and was faced with a 4th-and-3 from the Dallas 17 but Romeo Crennel elected to go for the field goal down 21 points. Dawson connected on the 34-yard field goal to cut the lead to 28-10 with 10:13 to go in the game.

Dallas ran the clock down to zero on the ensuing possession and the game essentially ended with Crennel's curious call.

Game Notes

Cleveland leads the all-time regular season series with Dallas, 15-11, but was a 19-12 road loser in the last such meeting, in Week 2 of the 2004 season. The Browns' most recent home win over the Cowboys occurred in 1988...Dallas head coach Wade Phillips is now 3-0 all-time against Cleveland...Crennel met both Phillips and the Cowboys for the first time as a head coach...Controversial cornerback Adam Jones, formerly known as "Pacman Jones," made his Cowboys debut following his acquisition in a draft-day trade with Tennessee. The talented but troublesome fourth-year pro logged one tackle but also was whistled for a pass interference call on a 3rd-and-goal Browns incompletion that gave Cleveland and extra set of downs and led to their only score...Dallas outgained Cleveland by a 487-205 margin.